New Zealand

It’s been a while since adding to me Study Abroad blog, but seeing as this week marks two years since my Study abroad adventure took place I thought it only fitting to state how it has since impacted me. Studying in New Zealand and meeting people from across the world sparked my interest in international education. As a result, I worked with my Office for International Education Office at my University to meet English Language Learning students and help them practice their English. This particularly led me to fall in love with working with Spanish speaking students, and I became acquainted with some wonderful students from South Korea, China, Spain, and Peru. Little did I ever think that I would change my mind for my future career and degree, but it did happen. My goals have swayed from English Secondary Education to International and Comparative Education, in which I want to pursue a masters and doctoral degree. Currently, I stand as a semifinalist for a Fulbright Fellowship for an English Teaching Assitantship next year in Spain, and I eagerly await the final results. I encourage anyone who has studied abroad to look into fellowship for postgraduate life, and it is an amazing resource to consider. Although I’m not exactly sure what the future holds, I know that these next few years I hope to gain more knowledge about international cultures and see the world.

Before heading out of new Zealand, our last stop was horse back riding through the woods and along the muriwai beach in Auckland. We got to trot and canter as well. The view was amazing! The only downside was having to wear a florescent vest and look like a traffic cone.

We hopped into a huge plastic bubble and rolled down a hill. In essence, we became hamsters for a while. We did a double ball with water in it and got sloshed around everywhere. It was so disorienting and super fun!

That time I voluntarily jumped off a bridge 154 feet high. While road tripping through northern new Zealand, we visited lake Taupo and I got to bungy jump. I did need a little help though, and asked for a shove. It was so scary, especially for someone terrified of heights, but I did it. My legs shook for 10 minutes afterwards.

These are some of the results of my first few weeks in the dark room. On the left is a photogram and on the right are several pictures that I took, processed and developed. Darkroom is by far my favorite class I’m taking this semester.

It’s considered the badlands erosion of New Zealand and their version of Bryce Canyon, with the hoodoos. Considering I went hiking to see the hoodoos this past summer, it was cool to see a much different version in another country. They filmed the “Paths of Death” scene from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King at this location!